My brother has been hospitalized for 3months for having schizophrenia and no treatment has been successful: Hello, first i would like to congratulate you for the very profitable site. God bless you all. My brother who is 35 has been diagnosed by affective schizophrenia since he was 18. he has been taking medication for his entire life.. lots of them.. when he first collapsed (at age 18) he entered a private psycho center for a whole month then in few years he got there only a week or two. But since then he doesnt really have a life: he doesnt go out a lot he stopped his education. He used to have friends but he cut his relationship with them and i used to blame it all on my mother since she had been depressive for a whole period of time and always refuses to take medication. she used to abuse us and still saying we’re not important and never let us express ourselves and always nagging on me and my brother and so on my dad. so i had been escaping from the house environment since my youth that ‘s why i feel so normal but my poor brother has stuck at home under all the pressure. i always thought it was mom who did all these things to him: many times he stays at his room sad and hear voices and do gestures with his hands.. till 3 months ago when he relapsed and started to do very weird behaviors like peeing inside the house and not sleeping at all so we got them in the same psych center at the same doctor he has been seeing since he was 18.. from then he has been so angry never saw him like this he says because of the high number of medication they give him he says that the center staff want to kill him and also he sometimes denies that we’re not his family. i have been suffering a lot going to visit him everyday and see him in pain it s been 3 months. and the treatment is not getting him better at all! sometimes he hits my dad and the staff they had to tie his hands and feet.

This Monday morning the doctor decided to start electric shocks treatment.. i am so worried i made researches on it i think it s not that useful for his case (schizophrenia affective)
please advise me Doctor what to do. shall i let the electric shocks go on? shall i insist to convince my parents to change doctor? Although he is one of the most famous psychiatrists in our country.. even if he said he haven’t seen anyone in my brother’s case!!!! Thank you in advance.

A. I am very sorry to learn about your very difficult family situation. Schizophrenia affects not only the individual with the disorder but often their family members as well. Some believe that it is, in many regards, a family disease.

The idea of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is frightening to many people. In addition, seeing pictures or videos of individuals undergoing such treatments can be very disconcerting. On that basis, many people and families will simply refuse the treatment. This is unfortunate because in some cases, ECT can be very effective. Some people claim that it has saved their lives.

I think you are on the right track. I would encourage you to continue to educate yourself about schizophrenia and its various treatment approaches.

I would also encourage you to speak to your brother’s doctor. Perhaps he can provide an explanation that helps you and your family better understand why he has recommended ECT. If every other treatment has failed, then your family may want to consider ECT for your brother.

It would also be advantageous to receive a second opinion. A second opinion could provide you and your family with the much needed information about how best to proceed.

At this point, it seems as though you are still in the information gathering process. You may not have enough information at this time to make an informed decision. Continue gathering information before making a final decision.

I hope this helps. Please consider writing back and letting me know the outcome of the situation. I wish you the best. Please take care.